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AKIRA, RON BASS JR., BRETT ISOM, ARIK ROYAL & MORE: 9/25 TWE IN RED BANK, TN REPORT

TWE Chattanooga

9/25/21 - Red Bank, TN

Available soon on IWTV.live

TWE has been raising their profile on IWTV lately so it’s a cool time to check out their live product, especially while I’m in the area. TWE uses a lot of the southeast talent seen at Action and SUP, and is the host for the Scenic City Invitational tournament. They have a near little dedicated venue located in a strip mall, including an entry way with kitchen concessi ons & ticket booth and a main hall pre-rigged with sound & monitors. I’m told it’s also used as training facility and plays host to other promotions from

time to time (ICW NHB is slated to bring the chains here soon). It’s pretty awesome to see this kind of dedicated all-in-one type venue. 

Lights out and we introduce tonight’s announcer and commentator, Johnny Mosely! We start on a somber note, as TWE is mourning the loss of their ticket taker (and so much more): Ms Donna. The locker room surrounds the ring as we give a 10-bell tribute to her. It’s a very touching tribute as this roster takes the moment to acknowledge their loss before putting on a show she would have loved to see.

Match 1: “Coach” Kody Manhorn (w/ Matt Griffin) vs “Starboy” BK Westbrook

Matt Griffin works Manhorn through his squats during his entrance. Even a coach needs a coach? Kody wants BK in a squat-off. BK wants none of that and argues with the crowd that suggests he might be scared of squats. Coach takes BK right down and wraps up the legs. BK tries to wrestle his way out but Coach puts him right on his butt. BK accepts the squat off finally and Kody tries to coach his through it. It’s a trap! Back elbow and Coach is down! BK is gloating and Manhorn gets the legs and makes him powder. Kody stunned in the apron and BK slingshots in with an arm drag. BK makes Griffin watch him lock Coach into an abdominal stretch. Kody with a couple of slaps but BK cracks him down again. Big slam and a running shooting star! Kick out! Griffin tooting this whistle to keep Coach in the fight. BK rolls into a dragon sleeper and sinks back. Coach with a flip over into a pin and two count. Coach fires back, hits a back elbow off the second rope and BK is starched enough for the pin. This was a great opener. Good energy throughout. Generally, I never want to cheer for someone blowing a whistle in wrestling but Kody has been a lot of fun to watch. BK had a heck of a showing this weekend as well, appearing here and on both Action shows yesterday. 

Winner: Coach Kody Manhorn

Derek Neal didn’t show up with Ron Bass JR’s money…or at all, really. IWTV producer Dylan Hales says that Derek Neal is fined $5000 for not showing up to TWE tonight. But he can get out of the fine by showing up next month and having a match where Bass picks the stipulation. In the meantime, Ron needs an opponent. Send out a different Derek!

Match 2: Ron Bass Jr. vs Derek James

Not the Derek that Ron Bass Jr wants to fight and he offers James the chance to go home instead. James is game though. He offers a forearm that bounces off Ron’s frame. Bass proceeds to reluctantly give James the beatdown he intended for Derek Neal. James doesn’t haven’t a good strategy for fighting a big dude so everything is getting shrugged off. Bass is pounding on him and crushing with a corner splash. A body block and Derek finally goes for the knees. Series of dropkicks, a cravat and a knee to the dome. Springboard off the rope, Bass catches and slams James. RBJ with a pedigree and Derek James’ night is mercifully over. Bass walked that fine line tonight of staying baby face and feeling bad about the beatdown he was giving…but he was giving a long form beatdown here for sure.

Winner: Ron Bass Jr.

Match 3: TKO vs Bobby Flaco

TKO is intense and Bobby is all energy. Bobby using his quickness to evade early but TKO finally hits a good shot to the gut. Bobby slingshots a crossbody for two. He wants a flip out of the corner but TKO shoved him off and decks him to the outside. Falling elbow for a kick out. TKO trying to lay the beatdown but Bobby’s ducking. TKO lands several stuff straight shots and Bobby crumbles for a two count. TKO working the wrist and arm. Bobby dodges some shots out of the corner and landing blows of his own. X-factor off the corner! TKO gets up and turns into a cutter for two! Bobby misses a baseball slide and TKO makes him eat the post. Flaco takes a rock bottom and it’s a close call. Bobby with a flurry of action and pin attempts! Baseball slide connects and Bobby with a crossbody off the top, rolls right into the pin and TKO is down for three. Flaco is a lot of fun to watch, and like mentor AR Fox, does a great job of keeping the audience engaged in between flurries of action. TKO threw a lot of heavy shots through this and looks to be a good striker. I would love to see some swagger from him when he’s clearly on the offense. Fun contest!

Winner: Bobby Flaco

Match 4: Jayke Murphy vs Snooty Foxx

Jayke in quick but Foxx is quick to brutalize him on the outside. Flip into the ring and hits a huge lariat. He misses a second one and Jayke with a cutter. Jayke  with a leg lariat on the second and working to choke and chop up Foxx. Foxx with a quick reversal into a buckle Bomb and bulldog. Series of straight shots! Foxx goes for the finish, Jayke pulls the ref in the way. Foxx moves the ref and Jayke hits a low blow while the ref can’t see. Roll him up and count it off. Solid quick work here. Foxx landed some brutal looking hits and Jayke sold well so the dirty finish was an appropriate level of desperation. 

Winner: Jake Murphy

Match 5: Merc(c) vs “The Castaway” Cabana Man Dan (for the TWE Championship)

We’re closing out the first half of the show with our title match! I’ve said this a few times but my god, I love CMD’s energy this past year or so. Merc has absolutely come into his own this year as well so this should be good. They go face to face and Merc shoved him hard to the corner. Merc shoved CMD out of the lockup and just laughs as he throws him off. Merc is walking Dan down with strikes and kicks. Big slam for two. Dan finally gets the arm and drags the champ to the ground. Merc stomps the bare feet of CMD but gets sent to the outside. Dan with a baseball slide sends Merc to the wall, and then thrown to the post. Crossbody off the top from CMD! Merc hangs him up on the top rope and lands a diving elbow to the back. Loud chest kicks! Big back suplex. Merc wraps up the legs and falls back into a stretch. CMD breaks away but runs into a spine buster for two. “Is this the best they could find for me?” Asks Merc…Dan immediately fires up with a series of attacks and pin attempts…which Merc quickly cuts off with a big powerbomb. Gutbuster into a big bear hug. Dan out to gut a spinning back kick and DDT off the ropes! Code red! Kick out! CMD goes for Surf’s Up but Merc counters into the Heart Grenade. Dan counters and picks the legs into a modified trailer hitch. Merc is screaming as he makes the ropes. Dan wants Surf’s Up but Merc crotched him on the top rope. A stiff kick and Merc takes Dan off the rope and hits the heart grenade (suplex lungblower) and defends his championship! Hell yeah. CMD kept coming but Merc’s confidence kept him a step ahead through this. Great first half closer.

Winner (and still champion): Merc

Merc is furious that TWE sent him “an outsider” to fight for the title. He’s upset that TWE mainstay Kody Manhorn opened the show. Carson Dilbeck? Nothing to do. Pete Youngblood? Not even here. Merc beat Jaden Newman and Brett Ison to win this belt. He’s not defending this title again unless it’s against a homegrown TWE talent. Matt Griffin is out here is remind Merc that Baby Dragon Erron Wade won a scramble at the last show which gets him a guaranteed title shot. Looks like Wade gets his shot in October! Merc loves Erron Wade though…”why would you do that to him, Matt? He’s just a boy.” Merc thinks Wade isn’t ready…Matt clarifies that Wade also gets to pick the stipulation. In October, it’s the Baby Dragon Martial Arts Challenge! Five 3-minute rounds. No pins, no subs, KO’s only or judge’s decision. Merc is not pleased at this turn of events but such is the lot of a champion. We go to intermission. 

(Intermission)

Match 6: Noah Hossman vs Sir Knight Merrik Donovan 

Did someone book a match just for ME? No really, I’ve been enjoying both these guys lately and I don’t know who to root for here. Lol. Merrik comes in and Noah wrestles him down. Donovan is still powerful and eating chops. They trade chops and forearms before Donovan hits a belly to belly takedown. Big dropkick. Sidewalk slam. Noah dodges a corner splash and tosses him through a German. Another suplex and some clubbing blows are crumbling Sir Knight. Corner cannonball! Belly to belly suplex for two! Noah to the top??? Merrik intercepts and throws Hossman from the top. Clubbing double axe handles and a huge lariat! Corner splash and a running neckbreaker. Noah with an arm twist takeover and Donovan is spiked on his head. Noah picks him up and hits a gutwrench sitout powerbomb for the win. Hard hitting, Really liked this one. Hossman and Donovan are two up and coming guys I’ve seen a lot of potential in over the last few months. Hossman is a natural aggressive heel. Donovan always sounds like he’s putting MAXIMUM EFFORT into every move he does. This was a good opportunity for them to show their ring skills at an equal level and this did not disappoint for me. Well done.

Winner: Noah Hossman

Match 7: Billy Tipton vs “ACEGAWD” Arik Royal 

Ok, first off - Seeing Arik Royal’s entrance with video and lights was everything I hoped it would be. I really can’t put over how much I like this dedicated venue enough. Royal is confident that he will be able to easily take Tipton out. It doesn’t go quite that way and Arik is on the defensive for a lot of this, to his surprise. They tumble and scramble through a series of moves and ACEGAWD seems to be getting the worse of this…until Billy tries a shoulder block. Royal shows him that he’s playing with a big boy and goes to work. Royal is stalking and taunting and stomping Billy out. Running headbutt from the Acegawd. Billy tries to fight back and runs into a swinging backbreaker. Royal with a body scissor and some corner shoulders. Royal potato sacks him on his shoulder and just dumps Tipton on his face. Arik comes off the top, Tipton dodges! Dropkick into a bulldog of the ropes. Billy heads up to the top and hits a back elbow to Royal! Kick out! Royal fires up with a slam, powerbomb and figure four! Billy is screaming his way to the ropes. Royal goes for Kobe! Billy with the backslide into an Olympic slam! Tipton trying to strangle Royal. Royal powers out and comes off the rope with Kobe for the win! I loooooved Tipton on the defense here. Every hold and big move Royal did to him resulted in some desperate screams that drew you in more. Royal wasn’t looking to hurt the kid…but he just wouldn’t stay down. As for Royal? Well, he’s the motherf***in’ ACEGAWD. Shot called and Kobe delivered the win. This was great. YAYEEEE! 

Winner: Arik Royal

Main Event: “The Pitbull” Brett Ison vs “The Death Samurai” AKIRA

KOBK owns the main event tonight! And HOW is this a first time contest?!? Akira and Ison charge each other and crash into a series of kicks and headbutts. Akira jumps into a arm bar and Ison powders out but eats a dive. Slugging it out at ringside and they take it in for a battle of loud chops and kicks back and forth. Akira crashes and burns in the corner but Ison can’t get the pin. Akira with a series of shots but Ison clubs him back, causing Akira to fall back into an armbar off the rope. Ison with a ddt and works towards a RNC. He locks in in just as Akira is able to throw enough elbows to break it. Akira with a flurry of strikes and dive to the corner. Big suplex to Ison and a near fall! Running kick but the pitbull ain’t done. Akira slapping Ison to life on the apron, he comes running and Ison pulls him over for some more chop and kick trading. Ison gets staggered with a boot that sends him back in. Akira trying another running kick but Ison catches it. Akira grabs a kimura and takes Ison down. Ison tries to turn it into a pin. The match hits the brakes for a moment as Akira tries to tell his friend it is okay to put down the KOBK flag. Ison says he’s sick of people writing him off just because he’s taking a break from wrestling in three months. He immediately clotheslines his friend and trades what look like shoot headbutts with Akira. Yeeeeesh! Akira starts landing so many elbows to the head but the Pitbull slowly picks himself up through it and hits a driver Akira that puts him down. Unsure how that finish played off you didn’t know Ison was going anywhere, but I’m sure Johnny Mosely covered that at the table for the folks at home. These two put on a war the kind that only friends and brothers can have. This wasn’t about hate, just a love of combat and a willingness to die just for that. Good hard hitting way to close this show out and really glad I got to see Ison do his thing live before he takes a break.

Winner: Brett Ison

Ison and Amira share the moment. Ison thanks him for the fight and says he knows Akira will carry the KOBK flag for him while he’s away. Akira wants Ison to come back though so they can have a round 2 of this contest. I agree. Ison takes the praise from crowd but directs the crowd to chant for Ms. Donna, as this whole night is dedicated to her.

And that’s it from TWE Chattanooga! I loved this venue. The roster put on an emotionally charged show, you could tell they were putting in the extra effort tonight for the fans and Ms Donna’s family at ringside. I’d suggest giving this one an eyeball once it hits IWTV. For myself, I’m likely to peruse their back catalog on VOD and definitely want to see how Merc handles this “Baby Dragon Martial Arts Challenge” next month so…until then! 

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